Coyotes’ taste for cats boon to bird lobbying

The American Bird Conservancy has a new ally in its case against sterilizing and releasing feral cats.

The group on Thursday released statistics from studies showing that cats make up from 13 percent to as much as 45 percent of a coyote’s diet.

The practice of “trap, neuter, release,” known as TNR, is available in San Jose, Campbell, Los Gatos, Cupertino, Santa Clara, Saratoga, Sunnyvale, and Milpitas, according to the local Humanity for Cats website.

Coyotes are moving into cities, including Manhattan, and according to some reports, may have mingled with wolves in the East, making them a bit more aggressive.

The bird people, while not exactly applauding this trend, do note that cats kill millions of birds each year and may be driving some to extinction.

“American Bird Conservancy has produced a short film ‘Trap, Neuter, and Release: Bad for Cats, Disaster for Birds,’ which reveals how Trap, Neuter, and Release is failing to substantially reduce cat numbers despite advocates’ claims, and is contributing to the deaths of an estimated 500 million birds each year,” the group said. “In addition, cats have been responsible for the extinction of an estimated 33 species of birds.”